A former Canada Border Services Agency officer found guilty of sexually exploiting a woman who was facing deportation back in 2003 has been granted bail pending an appeal of his conviction and sentence.

Carie Dexter Willis, 58, of Pointe-Claire, Que., was convicted by a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge in April on charges of sexual assault, extortion and breach of trust by a public official.

Justice Suzanne Hood sentenced Willis in August to six years in prison, saying his actions had an adverse effect on not only the woman “but also the broader community and the reputation of the CBSA. … His conduct must be denounced.”

Willis was working as an immigration officer when he committed the offences in Dartmouth. The judge found Willis used his position of authority over a 26-year-old Dartmouth woman, who was supposed to be deported to Nigeria in June 2003, to extort her for sex on numerous occasions.

The complainant, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, said Willis suggested she not report to the Halifax airport for deportation and then offered to “bury” her file in exchange for a sexual relationship.

She said the sexual contact began with unwanted kisses and progressed to oral sex, digital penetration and intercourse.

The woman reported Willis’s actions to immigration officials in 2014, when she applied for and received permanent residency status on compassionate grounds. Police launched an investigation later that year and arrested and charged Willis in April 2016.

The border agency suspended Willis after he was charged and fired him after he was found guilty.

Willis filed a notice of appeal in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal five days after he was sentenced.

“The learned trial judge’s conclusion that the evidence established … guilt was unreasonable in light of the complainant’s manifest dishonesty throughout the immigration process, her motivation to fabricate, and the slender evidence called in support of her account,” Willis claims in the document.

He says the judge erred in using the complainant’s prior consistent statements in support of the Crown’s case and in ruling on Willis’s application for production of third-party records regarding the woman.

Willis also claims the sentence was excessive in the circumstances.

He wants the conviction quashed and an acquittal entered or a new trial ordered. If the conviction is upheld, he wants the sentence reduced.

If a new trial is ordered, Willis says he wishes to be tried by a judge and jury.

The appeal will be heard in May.

Willis appeared in Appeal Court on Thursday with Toronto lawyer Phillip Campbell to apply for bail pending the outcome of his appeal.

The Crown consented to Willis’s release on a recognizance secured by a $5,000 cash deposit and $65,000 in property pledged by his mother and his wife.

Willis must reside with his wife and children in Pointe-Claire or with his mother in North Preston and has to observe a curfew. Justice David Farrar ordered him not to have any weapons, consume or possess alcohol or drugs, or have any contact with the complainant and three other people.

Willis is required to report to police weekly and cannot do any paid or volunteer work that would place him in a position of trust.

The bail order says Willis must surrender himself into custody the day before the Appeal Court releases its decision.